MINISTRY OF NATIONAL SECURITY Corporate Communications Unit

ADDRESS BY SENATOR THE HONOURABLE EMMANUEL GEORGE MINISTER OF NATIONAL SECURITY AT THE

PANEL DISCUSSION ON THE DRUG PROBLEM IN THE AMERICAS

Date: Monday, 22nd July 2012 Venue: University of the West Indies Time: 9:00am

Thank You Mr. Chairman, Specially invited guests, panellists and participants. I am very pleased to be a part of this event which recognises the publication and content of the Report on the Drug Problem in the Americas. Trinidad and Tobago was approached by the Executive Secretariat Commission of the Inter-American to Drug Abuse assist Control with

(CICAD)

coordinating/composing/compiling the Caribbean component of this report. The Ministry of National Security therefore began a process which included consultation with local stakeholders and the endorsement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. I am proud that our Cabinet of Ministers recognised the value of this project, but more importantly, it was the financial commitment of the other Ministries which was most encouraging. The Ministries of the People and Social Development, Community Development and Justice joined with the Ministry of National Security to fund the Caribbean Outreach Working Group Meeting.

The foregoing is an excellent demonstration of the Governments understanding that the world continues to view our Hemisphere as a region of substantial production, trans-shipment and consumption of drugs. The Secretary General of the Organization of American States in his recent remarks to the CARICOM Heads of Government earlier this month, acknowledged this. Therefore, the development of this report in an effort to contribute to the launch of a new dialogue as it relates to addressing the drug problem has the potential to have a major impact not just on our policies and programmes, but on how we are viewed by the international community.

Our decision to collaborate with CICAD to host a regional workshop and articulate a regional context is important, as the trafficking and abuse of drugs have many social, and economic consequences that can negatively impact our regions ability to undertake comprehensive developmental planning.

This meeting provided an excellent opportunity for many of the decision makers associated with Drug Control, to participate and contribute to a comprehensive regional position that incorporates the issues from the perspective of practitioners across the
3

traditional areas of Demand and Supply Reduction. Of additional importance was the inclusion of Civil Society, as they provide critical services in this area.

Through the Ministry of National Security the intention is to submit the finalised report from that workshop to Cabinet, for onward transmission through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to the CARICOM Secretariat for distribution to all CARICOM Member States. This will provide our regional counterparts with a comprehensive position on the drug problem in the region, and allow each country to position its drug policy according to the regional and hemispheric realities.

The Caribbean is proud of its association with the OAS and values the contribution which this organization makes to the region in different spheres. We are also grateful to the OAS General Secretariat and the Executive Secretariat of CICAD for all of the projects and programmes which have been implemented in this geographical area, and which continue to be developed in response to the needs identified, in consultation with Member States.

I am aware that after the meeting in January this year, one recommendation was that this meeting of regional drug practitioners should be convened biennially. I am of the view that this would be beneficial to us as a region. However in the interim, the existing systems should be utilised to further the work that was begun in January. I speak of the annual CARICOM Meeting of Directors of National Drug Councils, when I referred to existing systems. This forum, in my opinion, has the capacity to continue the discourse and help the respective Member States to gain a greater appreciation for many of the issues.

Dr. Insanally, as the OAS country representative to Trinidad and Tobago, I wish to urge you to encourage CICAD to assist the region in making the forum that was convened in January a part of its work programme. I assure you that Trinidad and Tobago will continue to provide advocacy for that undertaking. More importantly though, as Trinidad and Tobago has undertaken consultations with stakeholders in drug control in the development of its Drug Policy 2013 and its Operational Plan for the period 2013-2017, the core scenario areas as identified in the study are: Together To strengthen institutional capacity to enhance citizen security;
5

Pathways Examination of various policies to evaluate effectiveness and potentially amend /enhance various areas; Resilience How can communities be strengthened and community partners engaged to sustain improvement; and Disruption In this area we are exploring the issues and I am aware that the National Drug Council has agreed to develop a concept paper regarding the issue of Marijuana in Trinidad and Tobago, in the first instance. These areas are interwoven in the six pillars of the Policy and Operational Plan which are: Institutional Strengthening Demand Reduction Supply Reduction Control Measures Research, and Monitoring and Evaluation I trust that the fact that the issues contained in the Scenario Reports are being considered in Trinidad and Tobagos policy and strategic direction, clearly demonstrates this countrys

commitment to continued exploration of all areas that will bring relief from the drug problem.
6

We look forward to working with the OAS, the Institute of International Relations and all other organisations to achieve this end. I thank you.